Other than perhaps a small contingent of maize and blue jet-setters who boarded a plane to Durham on Monday, no one can be certain whether Michigan's Nik Stauskas will take the floor against No. 10 Duke on Tuesday night.
The Wolverines' leading scorer is still recovering from an ankle sprain that kept him out of U-M's meeting home win against Coppin State on Friday.
Stausksas' importance is glaring. He averages 20.3 points per game. He's Michigan's best 3-point shooter. He's shown the ability to put the ball on the floor. He can keep a defense honest one possession, collapse it the next.
None of this is missed on Glenn Robinson III. U-M's third-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game was direct when asked Monday about Stauskas' importance.
"Nik is a great player and we're definitely going to need him," Robinson said. "Nik is a great scorer and he's what this team needs in order to win."
Robinson added that Michigan "did a great job without Nik" in its 87-45 win over Coppin State, but Duke is not Coppin State.
U-M coach John Beilein said a decision on Stauskas against the Blue Devils would be determined out of Monday's practice.
“If he can play well today in practice we’ll play him tomorrow," Beilein said. "If he’s not moving the way he needs to move today in practice, we probably wouldn’t use him.”
And if that's the case, Michigan could shift from a perimeter-based team -- 36.2 percent of the team's points come on 3-pointers -- to one that needs to rely on its post players.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski boasts a gifted roster highlighted by All-American candidates Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood, but a lack of size in the front court also makes it a flawed roster.
The Blue Devils allowed 94 points in an early season loss to Kansas, with 24 coming from Jayhawk power forward Perry Ellis. In a loss the Arizona on Friday, Duke allowed the starting front court of Aaron Gordon, Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski to score 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
"They aren't very tall," Robinson said. "They don't have a lot of shot-blockers."
On the glass, Duke's front court of Josh Hairston, Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee rank 270th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (28.7) and 200th in defensive rebound percentage (68.2).
If there's an area to exploit, especially in the potential absence of Stauskas, this is it.
"We're looking to go inside a little bit -- feed Mitch (McGarY), feed the post -- and hopefully that will work," Robinson said.
Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com